He played as a forward or right winger. At one point considered to be among Serbia's brightest footballing talents, Ognjenović signed with European giants Real Madrid in his early 20s, but never became a regular there, despite winning major titles, eventually going on to have an irregular career in six other countries.
Born in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ognjenović's first football steps were taken with modest hometown club Mladost Smederevska Palanka where he went through all age levels before breaking through to the senior squad just short of his 16th birthday, during the 1992–93 season. At the time, the team competed in the third division, and it soon became apparent the player's skill and talent far surpassed that level of competition.
Ognjenović caught the eye of country powerhouse Red Star Belgrade, which signed the promising youngster in the 1994 summer.
Real Madrid
A series of solid performances for Red Star earned Ognjenović a move to Real Madrid on 12 January 1999 for a transfer fee of DM5 million (€2.5 million), and a reported annual salary of DM1.2 million.[1] The contract negotiations between the player's agent Zoran Vekić and Real president Lorenzo Sanz ran very long,[2] as the team had a surplus of forwards on its roster and had to offload 17-year-old Samuel Eto'o on a loan spell to RCD Espanyol before signing any new ones; everything was finally concluded just hours before the Spanish winter transfer window closed, and the player joined compatriot Predrag Mijatović at his new club.[3]
For the following six months after leaving Real, Ognjenović could not find a team. He trained alone with a private coach until 1. FC Kaiserslautern arranged a tryout and brought him in for free on 17 January 2002, in a deal until the end of the campaign with a two-year extension option;[7] they finished seventh in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup, but the player only appeared twice.
After failing to settle in Germany, Ognjenović's next stop was China with Dalian Shide FC, where he was brought to in January 2003 by the club's coach Milorad Kosanović, who had already managed him at Red Star. He then moved on to FC Dynamo Kyiv in late November 2003,[8] but could not earn playing time there either; the next stop was in France, as he signed in January 2005 with Angers SCO in Ligue 2.
In May 2006, Ognjenović joined Malaysian Super League side Selangor FA, signing a six-month contract[9]– the team was sitting in last place at the time of his signing. His career settled relatively from 2006 to 2008 as he played with Greece's Ergotelis F.C. in the Superleague, although he only appeared 26 times in the league combined; the following year was spent also in the country, with lowly Kallithea FC.
Ognjenović joined FK Jagodina on 29 July 2009,[10][11] returning to his homeland after more than a decade.
Subsequently, he was picked for the squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing as a substitute in all three group stage matches as Yugoslavia exited in the Round-of-16.[12]
